To Save Two Friends (MMSG3-1)
by SGxElPsyKongroo-0-PWxObjection
Summary: December 2015, a month Akemi Homura had experienced many times. Things suddenly change though when a new teacher's aid named Shiina Mayuri is introduced to her class. This thrusts Homura into a new timeline full of pains from the past. However, she has help this time. Mayuri just so happens to have her own time travelling guardian angel.
1. Chapter 1

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter One

2015.12.22 - 7:33 AM JST  
Tuesday

I woke up once again. Same day, same room, same problem. Madoka was going to die again in a month if I couldn't figure out a way to stop it. I once again used some magic to heal my eyesight and sighed. I got dressed and ate breakfast. Then before I knew it, it was time to go to school. I arrived at the correct classroom and the teacher gave me the usual introduction.

"Come in, Ms. Akemi. Don't be shy." She told me as I entered the room. I walked over to her and turned to face the class.

"Hello, my name is Akemi Homura. It's nice to meet you all." I said this to the class. I corrected the spelling of my name on the whiteboard. I then headed to my seat. This is where I would usually get harassed by my other 'curious' classmates, but then something unexpected happened.

"I would also like to introduce a university student who will be helping me out with this class. Please say hello to Shiina Mayuri."

An older girl in a light blue dress walked into the classroom. I was completely dumbfounded. I had relived this moment over and over and this had never happened before. I was actually really curious about where this was going to go. Was this the lucky break that I needed? The girl then introduced herself.

"Tuturu. My name is Mayuri, but you can also call Mayushii. I hope I can be some help."

The class then went on as normal, but this was still bugging me. I did nothing to cause this Mayuri person to appear. My time travel magic has never done this before. Was this just the butterfly effect or something much worse. It was then when I realized that I had daydreamed through the entire class. I knew I needed answers. I walked up to Mayuri.

"Excuse me, Shiina-san. Can you lead me to the nurse's office?" Mayuri's eyes lit up.

"I can do that. I actually went to this middle school on an exchange, you know. Also just call me Mayuri."

I nodded and we headed out into the hallway. I had really wanted to connect to Madoka again, but that could wait a bit.

"Shin-er-Mayuri." I corrected myself. "Any particular reason you were in my class today?"

"I'm thinking of becoming a teacher." She answered. "Is me being here bothering you?"

"No." I replied. "I'm just wondering why you why you were in my class today. Call it curiosity."

"Well, I was kinda assigned to your class. I didn't really get to chose if that's what you're wondering."

"I see."

We made it to the nurse's office and I got some medication for a stomach ache I had. I continued the rest of the day with Mayuri occasionally poking her head into whatever I was doing. Her presence did still bother me, but I had no rational way to explain that to her. I didn't think she was a threat though. Mayuri was very childish and she seemed like a good person at heart. Only her presence bothered me, that's all.

By the end of day, I actually managed to bound with Madoka quite a bit. To the point where she turned to me and asked me this.

"Hey Homura-chan, you've missed a lot of school." Madoka commented. "Why don't I help you study?"

My heart skipped a beat. Things really were different this time. I immediately agreed.

"S-sure. Where do you want to meet up? Your house?"

"That sounds good. You can follow my home if you like. I'm sure my parents won't mind."

We did just that. Madoka and I walked to her place from the school. She went over all the courses we had this semester. I aced most of the material, which impressed Madoka quite a bit. Once we were finished, she turned to me again.

"I think that's it. Do you want to just hang out? I think the mall's still open."

"That sounds nice." I told her. I was actually smiling. "Let's get going."

Madoka and I arrived at the mall. We went into the music store and listened to some CDs. I got distracted by the album I was listening to. The song was over and Madoka was gone. I panicked. What happened? I then remembered the encounter we had in the basement. I ran out of the store at full speed, but I got there a bit late.

When I arrived it was halfway through the fight with the witch here, but there were two magical girls fighting it this time. One of them of was definitely Mami, no doubt about it. The other girl was entirely a mystery. They were cooperating too, which seemed to indicate that this wasn't a turf war. Madoka still needed protection though. I transformed into my own magical girl form. I stood in front of Madoka and acted as her shield until the fight was over. The witch was defeated and the two other magical girls walked up to me with questioning looks. I then saw who the other magical girl was and I was shocked. It was Shiina Mayuri.

"Funny. I don't think I've ever seen so many magical girls in one place." Mayuri said with a smile. "It's actually kind of nice."

This was an important development, I knew that. Not only did Mayuri suddenly appear in my class today, but she's also a magical girl too. This definitely held a lot of significance towards me succeeding this time, but I honestly had no idea how things were going to turn out. I was completely winging it.

******  
(Chapter Two: Out Now!)


	2. Chapter 2

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Two

2015.12.22 - 7:57 PM JST  
Tuesday

There was no confrontation after the witch fight as I was already on Madoka's side. The Incubator then walked into view. I still felt an urge to give Kyubey a taste of what's coming, but I somehow restrained myself. This wasn't the right time or place.

"Thank you, Mami-san, Mayuri-san." He thanked them. "That witch sort of snuck up on me."

"It's fine." Mami responded. "But you should really be thanking that girl over there. Mayuri and I were simply passing through."

She pointed over at Madoka, who was still quite confused as to what exactly was going on. Sometimes I wished I had her ignorance. Being a magical girl was often quite dark and lonely, and I was in waist deep.

"Right." Kyubey confirmed. "Thank you, Kaname Madoka."

Madoka then jumped a bit at the mention of her name. She clearly wasn't expecting this small 'animal' to be able to speak. I shook my head and turned my back to them.

"Enough with the small talk." I told them. "I think Madoka needs a proper introduction to this new world that she just encountered."

"Yes, of course." Mami replied back. She then greeted Madoka with a smile.

"I know this must be very confusing for you, but let me assure you that everything's fine. Let's talk about this at my place."

The two other girls started following Mami out of the basement, but I didn't move. Madoka noticed this. She tugs on Mami's sleeve, which stopped the whole group.

"You're not coming with us, Homura-chan?"

That's right. I didn't try to kill Kyubey this time, so none of these people were afraid of me. I could go with them. I could go to Mami's house and get to know her again. I haven't had a meaningful conversation with her for many loops. Should I?

"Why not?" I voiced my thoughts. I then followed the group over to Mami's apartment. That was where the concept of magical girls was explained to Madoka. Mami kept a lot of information out, of course. I couldn't really blame her for that though, she was totally oblivious to the secrets that Kyubey was hiding. It was hard holding in all my hate for that despicable little creature.

"So, you get to make a wish and that turns you into a superhero?" Madoka asked us, mouth wide open. "What's the downside?"

"It's quite dangerous." Mayuri told her with a sip of tea. "One wrong move and it's all over."

"R-really?"

Madoka's face shifted to a look of fear. I didn't like seeing her so afraid, but maybe this would help stop her from becoming a magical girl. Was Mayuri being here actually beneficial to me? I don't know. I had never experienced the timeline from this perspective.

"Shiina Mayuri, how long have you been a magical girl?" I asked her. Mayuri tilted her head in thought.

"Let's see… I first formed my contract when I was 16 and I'm 21 now. So that would make it five years."

My ears peaked. This was some really interesting information. 16 was already pretty late to become a magical girl, but it was also pretty amazing that she was still one all these years later. Come to think of it, was there an upper limit to what age you could become a magical girl? I once read an article that said you're still biologically a teenager until the age of 25. Maybe that had something to do with it. Everyone finished their food and Mami stood up.

"You know, Madoka. Kyubey says you could be a really good magical girl. You want to give it some thought?"

The table fell silent. Madoka stared right into Mami's eyes while Mayuri shot me a look of concern. I knew I had to say something.

"I think that's unfair." I told Mami. "Being a magical girl is a huge responsibility. Such a decision should be taken very seriously."

"I agree." Mayuri pitched in. "Madoka-chan should get a taste of our lives before you just pop the question like that."

"Okay." Mami stepped down. "We're going out on a patrol tomorrow. Would you like to join us, Madoka?"

"Y-yeah. Sure."

"And you." Mami addressed me. "You're welcome to join us too."

"Certainly." I replied back with a nod. Mami then took control of the group.

"We'll meet back here at 5 PM tomorrow. See you all then."

At that point, we all left Mami's apartment and went our separate ways. I got back home and laid down on my bed. It was a good day. Most of the changes I had experienced were for the better. Plus, Madoka and Mami were my friends again. The timeline had changed so much that maybe Madoka wasn't going to die at the end of the month afterall. That would've been fantastic. Little did I know, that train of thought was going to come back to bite me.

******  
(Chapter Three: Out Now!)


	3. Chapter 3

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Three

2015.12.23 - 7:25 AM JST  
Wednesday

I got out of bed with a spring in my step. I actually couldn't wait to get to school, I couldn't wait to see Madoka today. It seemed like years since I last felt this happy and excited. Maybe it had been years, considering how many time loops I experienced up to this point. I quickly put on my uniform and headed out the door. I left my house earlier than I usually did, that's how I ran into Madoka completely by accident. She was with her friends. Their names were Sayaka and Hitomi, if I remembered correctly. They gave me questioning looks as Madoka ran up to me.

"Hi, Homura-chan. How are you doing? Would you like to join us?"

My smile was immediately replaced with an uneasy expression. I didn't answer Madoka's question. Why was I hesitating? Sayaka noticed my sudden change and decided to comment on it.

"Hey, transfer student. You don't need to be afraid of Hitomi and I. We don't bite."

Sayaka's words, though mocking, calmed me down considerably. Acting scared would do nothing but raise eyebrows. I just needed to enjoy my time with Madoka and see how things turned out.

"Her name is Homura, Sayaka-chan." Madoka corrected. She then looked over to me. "Are you okay? After last night, I mean."

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." This was a lie. I was still quite shaken up by everything that was going on. Last night was only part of it. Madoka then grabbed my hand and led me down the sidewalk, with her friends following in pursuit. It was weird to be part of a social group again. I mostly kept quiet, but it still felt nice to be included.

We arrived at school and I went through the regular motions. Mayuri returned as our teacher's assistant as well. Things ran smoothly for the most part. I then overheard Sayaka and Madoka talking about me from a few metres away. It was during our lunch break.

"I don't know, Madoka… doesn't Homura seem a bit off to you?" Sayaka commented. "She doesn't really engage with me when I talk to her. How do you two get along so well?"

"I… I'm not sure." Madoka admitted. "I guess we just click better. I feel that she's just more open to me for some reason."

Madoka seemed sad about this and that bothered me. My heart grew cold to prevent it from breaking. However, this was now hurting Madoka which was the opposite of what I wanted. There was a chance that this could be my last loop and I needed to leave a good impression. I made a mental note to stop acting so robotic. I headed to another table, but Hitomi sat down across from me. I looked up from my meal and she spoke to me.

"You look lonely, Homura. I'm sure Madoka and Sayaka wouldn't mind us joining them."

I thought about this and nodded. I decided that I shouldn't take Sayaka's remarks so personally. We got up and switched tables.

After dismissal, Madoka and I walked to Mami's apartment after an enjoyable afternoon together. Mami let us in and she passed around her teapot again as we waited for Mayuri. She arrived about fifteen minutes later with two shopping bags in her hands. Mayuri gave us an awkward smile.

"S-sorry. I went to the mall after work." She told us with a laugh. "Your city has an amazing shopping centre."

"Really?" Mami questioned. "You're from Tokyo, right? That sets the bar pretty high."

"Well, I never had this much spending money before." Mayuri explained. "You don't get paid that much for being a cat maid, you know."

"A cat maid?" Madoka asked her. I was curious too. What was she talking about?

"That's right. I worked at a maid café in Akihabara for a few years." Mayuri said with a smile. "I eventually had to quit though. Being a magical girl is hard when you have a full schedule."

"Oh. I see." Madoka sort of shrugged this off and we moved on. After another ten minutes of talking, it was five o'clock.

"Time to go witch hunting." Mami announced. She then turned Mayuri and I. "I know the area so I'll take the lead. You two follow in the rear and let me know if you see anything."

We took up that formation as soon as we left the apartment. It took an hour of walking around the neighbourhood, but we did eventually find the entrance to a witch's labyrinth. Mami transformed into her magical girl form, followed by myself, and then Mayuri. Her body glowed and her feet began to left off the ground. It seemed that her power was levitation. We entered the labyrinth and went straight to the centre of the maze. This witch seemed pretty strong, it took all three of us to defeat it. Mayuri took the final blow and the witch disappeared. We started to celebrate, but I then realized something concerning. There was no grief seed. Every witch left a grief seed.

As I thought about this, the witch burst out of a wall. It was heading straight towards Madoka. Mayuri noticed this too and bolted to her position. I reached towards the mechanism I used to freeze time, but I wasn't fast enough. Mayuri pushed Madoka out of the way and took the full brunt of the witch's attack. She was thrown back and hit the wall with great force. Mami then beat the witch while I was in a daze. The labyrinth collapsed. Madoka and I rushed over to Mayuri's side. I could tell that her condition was bad. She had a huge gash across her chest and her left shoulder seemed dislocated too. I bit my lip as Madoka began to cry. Mayuri used what energy she had left to shake her head.

"It's okay. I'm… I'm glad that I was useful." Mayuri said this weakly. Her eyes began to close. She reached up to touch Madoka's face.

"It's cloudy… I can't see the stars." Mayuri mumbled. "I wonder what they look like this time of year…"

I could hear Mami running over. She knew a few healing spells that could have maybe helped Mayuri, but it was too late. Mayuri's eyes closed for the final time. Her magical girl outfit disappeared, which was enough to tell me what had happened. Shiina Mayuri was dead. Mami and Madoka still checked her pulse in an act of denial, but the result came back the same.

"What… what do we do?" Madoka asked, clearly distressed. "We can't just leave her here."

"I… I guess we'll have to report this to the police." Mami told us, equally shaken up. "We'll just tell them that we found a… a d-dead body."

Mami and Madoka ran out of the alleyway to make the call, but walked back over to Mayuri. I crouched down and whispered a message that I hoped her spirit would hear.

"Thank you, Shiina Mayuri. Thank you for saving Madoka when I couldn't. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten."

I stood back up and began to hear sirens in the distance. At that point, I distanced myself from the Mayuri's body and headed out of the alleyway myself. I was naive. There was no such thing as a 'happy' timeline.

******  
(Chapter Four: Out Now!)


	4. Chapter 4

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Four

2015.12.24 - 9:55 AM JST  
Thursday

I went back to school the next day alone. I entered the classroom and the first thing I noticed was that Madoka was absent today. I sighed. I hadn't talked to her since the night before, but I had a pretty good idea of what happened. Madoka was probably in shock and in a state of grief. She clearly needed time to recover. I did consider skipping school to see her, but I wasn't sure what to say. What could I say to comfort her? Class ended and a group of students approached me.

"What do you want?" I growled at them. My goal was basically to tell them to go away. This didn't work.

"You were there, right?" A girl asked me. "You saw Mayuri-san last night? After she died."

This information spread around faster than I expected. I looked back up at her. I was trying to get a message across. I didn't want to talk about this for multiple reasons. Couldn't they take a hint? I guess not.

"What happened?" Another girl spoke up. "I heard she got mugged or something."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Someone else chipped in. "My Dad is a police officer and he said that they found her wallet on her body. It couldn't be that."

I slammed my hands on my desk, silencing everyone. I felt even angrier than usual. I broke the mood with my death stare. I then spoke to them in a hursh tone.

"If you're going to have this conversation, could you please go to another room?"

The girls looked at me and stepped back. They gave me an unconvincing apology and filed out of the room. I sighed again. Those people seemed like the gossiping type. They were far more concerned about what happened than they were about my feelings. It was a good thing that Madoka wasn't here, she shouldn't have to deal with this stuff.

I was once again sitting by myself at lunch when Sayaka took a seat beside me. She was followed by Hitomi. I could already tell where this was going.

"Hey, Homura." Sayaka addressed me. Her was voice rather serious and cold. "I heard through the grapevine that you and Madoka found a dead body last night. Is… is that true?"

The only response I could give her was I hesitant nod. Both Sayaka and Hitomi looked upset after I said that. They knew that Madoka wouldn't skip school unless it was important. Clearly they understood now that Madoka was in a lot of pain right now and she probably needed them really badly. Sayaka clutched her hand into a fist and made a bold announcement.

"Okay. I'm skipping the rest of the day to see Madoka. You two are welcome to come with me."

Sayaka got up from her chair and headed out of the cafeteria. I followed her, alongside a really nervous Hitomi. She clearly never tried skipping school before. We left the school and walked over to Madoka's house. When we arrived we saw a bit of a strange sight. There was a man and a woman talking to Madoka's father on their front porch. We couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't look pleasant. Neither of them appeared to be police officers though. In fact, the man was wearing a lab coat for some reason. As we got closer, we began to hear their conversation.

"Please, sir." The man begged Madoka's Dad. "Please let us talk to your daughter. Just for five minutes. Please."

"I'm sorry, but Madoka is not emotionally ready for a visit from complete strangers." Mr. Kaname replied. "Come back in a few days."

"We can respect that, Kaname-san." The woman butted in. "But we can't stay here for very long. Mayuri's funeral is in three days and it's a long trip back to Tokyo."

"I'm afraid you'll have to leave this for later then." Madoka's Dad shoot them down again. "Have a good day."

He then shut the door in an uncharacteristic act of irritation. The man and woman talked for a bit more before walking back to the sidewalk. They passed by us, I guess they were headed to the train station. Our group then approached the door and knocked. We were greeted by Madoka's Dad again. He took a look at us and sighed in relief.

"Oh, hi girls. You're here to see Madoka?"

"Yes." Hitomi shyly responded. "Is she available?"

"Of course." He said with a sad smile. "She's in her room."

Mr. Kaname let us in and we headed up the stairs to Madoka's bedroom. Sayaka raised her hand up to knock on Madoka's door, but the door flew open before contact could be made.

"Hi Sayaka-chan, hi Hitomi-chan, hi Homura-chan." Madoka's voice was weirdly monotone. She had bags under her eyes too. This was clearly affecting her greatly.

Madoka moved aside and let us into her room. I had seen Madoka's room in various other timelines. This one looked no different. We all sat down on her bed.

"Madoka, are you okay?" Hitomi broke the ice. "You don't look very good."

"Yesterday shook me up quite a bit." Madoka told us, looking down at the floor. "I assume you heard what happened."

"Yeah." Sayaka confirmed. "You apparently stumbled across a dead body."

"Not just any dead body." Madoka corrected her friend. "It was Mayuri-san."

Sayaka and Hitomi were shocked. I hadn't told them this information and I was a bit surprised that Madoka was so open about this considering her current condition.

"You.. you mean the new teacher's aide?" Hitomi asked us. "So… so that's why she wasn't at school today."

"Oh man." Sayaka let out a sad sigh. "This is so messed up."

Madoka looked up from the floor and looked me right in the eyes. This got questioning looks from everyone, even from me.

"Homura-chan, can I talk to you in private?"

This request hit all of us like a block of concrete. It was very unexpected. Sayaka and Hitomi quietly got up and left the room. Madoka cleared her throat once her two friends had made their exit.

"Homura-chan… are you sure that we can't tell them about what actually happened last night? About the whole magical girl thing?"

"I wouldn't do that." I told her softly. "The existence of magical girls is a secret that you shouldn't ever talk about. Not unless someone accidentally finds out. They're better off not knowing."

"I see…" Madoka looked back down at the floor again. I hated seeing her like this, but what could I do to cheer her up? Was this the right time for a hug or should I react with a different gesture? As I thought about this, the door creaked opened. It was Sayaka.

"Hi. I hate to interrupt, but Hitomi and I are thinking of heading over to a café. Would you two like to join us?"

"Sure. I'll go." Madoka replied. "'I've been confined to my room since I got home from the police station last night. I could use some time out of the house. You're coming too, right Homura-chan?"

"Yeah." I said with a small smile. "A hot chocolate sounds appealing."

******  
(Chapter Five: In Progress)


	5. Chapter 5

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Five

2015.12.24 - 1:15 PM JST  
Thursday

As a group, the four of us headed to a simple coffee shop located about twenty minutes down the road. Everyone was much more relaxed once we had some sugar and caffeine. Madoka was actually smiling a bit, which seemed to indicate that we were doing a good job of avoiding the topic of Mayuri's death. The mood was quite pleasant.

"Hey Madoka, you want to hear an English joke?" Sayaka asked her. "How do you sort a bunch of kitten photos?"

"Well, um…" Madoka bit her lip and looked over to Hitomi and I. I guess her English wasn't very strong.

"Hey! No cheating!" Sayaka demanded. Madoka went back into her shell a bit.

"I don't know…" She told us with a hint of irritation. "Just tell me, Sayaka-chan."

"You sort them by cat-egory." Sayaka replied with a cocky smile. There was an echo of groans around the table as everyone got the pun. I couldn't help but comment on this.

"You really think that was clever, don't you?"

"That was really bad, Sayaka-chan." Hitomi added. "Terrible."

"Oh really?" Sayaka asked us, clearly offended. She stood up from her seat in anger. "Can any of you do better?"

Comedy was not my area of expertise, so I wasn't about to make a suggestion. In fact, no one did. Sayaka took a deep sigh and sat back down. She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.

"That's what I thought." Sayaka scoffed at us. "Don't criticize me like that unless you can put your foot where your mouth is."

The other three girls went off on another tangent, but I spaced out when I spotted two people enter the café. I thought they looked familiar, and then realized they were the same people who were arguing with Madoka's father. A woman with red hair and a man with a ridiculous lab coat. They each bought a coffee and sat down at a few tables from us. I couldn't help but eavesdrop. The woman pulled out her phone.

"I'm booking our bullet train tickets now." She announced. "Do you think six o'clock would work?"

The woman looked up from her phone's screen to see the man staring into empty space.

"Okabe?" She called out the man's name. "Six o'clock?"

"Oh, um, yeah. I think that sounds good." He told her. "It shouldn't take us five hours to get to the train station."

This Okabe person still looked out of it. The woman noticed this too. She put her phone down to address this.

"Hey, Homura. Aren't you listening to us?" Sayaka pulled me back to the conversation at my table. "Why are you eavesdropping on those people?"

I didn't really have an explanation for her. We then heard the woman drop two names that neither of us were expecting.

"It's unfortunate that we were unable to talk to Kaname Madoka." She told the man. "I still don't think she saw anything though. She only found the Mayuri's body."

"Huh?" Madoka squeaked. She clearly overheard her name too. They also mentioned Mayuri by name, which implied that they had a connection to her in some way.

"I know." The man replied. "I still wanted to hear that from the girl directly. I thought it might help relieve the pain a bit. Apparently, she was in the class Mayuri was teaching."

Madoka immediately got up from her seat and weaved her way passed Hitomi. She approached the table the man and woman were sat at. Madoka cleared her throat.

"Excuse me." She quietly interrupted them. "You just mentioned Shiina Mayuri-san, right?"

The man and the woman gave Madoka blank expression. I guess they weren't expecting a girl just to walk up to them and ask this.

"Y-yeah." The man responded. "Were you one of her students?"

Madoka nodded. This was certainly a turn of events. I honestly didn't think Madoka was ready to talk about this yet. She was stronger than I thought.

"That's nice to hear." The man told us with a fake smile. "I'm Okabe Rintarou and this Makise Kurisu. We're old friends of Mayuri. In fact, I knew her since childhood."

"My name is K-Kaname Madoka." Madoka introduced herself. "I met Mayuri on Tuesday. I… I was in a bit of a pickle and she saved me."

"Saved…?" Kurisu questioned. "That wording is a bit weird."

"Hey, lady." Sayaka called over. She stood up and walked over to Madoka's side. "You should watch who you pick on."

"What the…" Kurisu muttered. "Who are you?"

"This is my friend, Miki Sayaka-chan." Madoka said with a sigh. She then glanced back to Hitomi and I. "Hey, you two get over here."

Hitomi and I then joined the group of people forming around the other table. Madoka introduced us too. Once we were all acquainted, the talking began. We exchanged stories about Mayuri. Even though we only knew her for a few days, Madoka was surprising observant. She picked out behaviours that I had completely forgotten about. Madoka also mentioned the times we went to Mami's house to "study". When we finished, Okabe was almost in tears.

"Th-thank you." He said to Madoka. "I'm glad Mayuri had friends." Okabe looked down and checked the time on his phone.

"Oh. Where did the time go?" He asked us with a laugh. "Kurisu, did you book those tickets?"

"No…" She replied. "I should get on that."

Kurisu got back on her phone and Okabe looked down at the ground. This reminded of how Madoka was feeling back when she was confined to her room. He then made an unexpected request.

"Would any of you girls want to come to Mayuri's funeral? It's in Tokyo, but I'm sure no one will mind."

"W-w-well…" Hitomi stuttered. "I'm… I'm afraid I would just feel out of place. I didn't know her very well."

"Same here." Sayaka admitted. "I'll have to kindly decline as well. Sorry."

"I'll… I'll go." These words seemed to pass through Madoka's mouth with a sudden burst of confidence. "Just let me ask my parents."

Madoka reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. After a good five minutes of back and forth between Madoka and her Mom, she got approval. Madoka wrapped up the call with a simple thank you and hung up. She then looked over to me.

"Are you coming, Homura-chan?" Madoka asked me with puppy eyes. I already knew my answer before I even had time to think about it.

"S-sure. I'll go too." I told them. "Do you think Mami will want to join us as well?"

"Let's call her."

Madoka swiped a page over in her contacts and found Mami. After another phone call, Mami agreed to go to meet up with us at the bullet train station in downtown. Hitomi and Sayaka thanked Okabe for the offer. They also took the time to wish Madoka and I a safe journey. By the time we were finished talking, it was three o'clock. Two hours had passed in that café, but Madoka didn't regret this and neither did I. If she wanted me to travel to Tokyo with her, I was more than happy to.

******  
(Chapter Six: Out Now!)


	6. Chapter 6

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Six

2015.12.24 - 6:10 PM JST  
Thursday

Mami met us at the train station as promised. Madoka and I had also taken the liberty of going back home and pack a suitcase. We weren't coming home until Sunday night, so we needed more than the clothes on our back.

We boarded the train and continued our conversation about Mayuri. Mami apparently first stumbled across Mayuri during her tour of the school a week earlier. One of them probably found out the other was a magical girl and they decided to work together. Mami obviously didn't say that, Okabe and Kurisu were with us the whole time. We couldn't talk about this stuff in front of them for a whole list of reasons. This changed a few hours into our journey when they to decided to go back to their seats to rest. This left the three of us alone for a bit.

"Tokyo has never felt further." Madoka whined with a yawn. "I swear it looks much closer on a map."

"I agree, Madoka." Mami added. "It's been three hours and we're not even halfway there."

"Hey, Homura-chan." Madoka called me. "Didn't you say that you originally went to school in Tokyo before moving to Mitakihara? Did you take the train or did you fly?"

"I… I took the train, I believe."

That was honestly an educated guess at best. I had experienced so many loops that everything from before I met Madoka was a blur. Did I actually fly instead? I really didn't know. Mami then sighed.

"I feel so bad not being able to tell Okabe and Kurisu what really happened." She told us. "But this is something you can't discuss with other people, non-magical girls I mean."

Mami was essentially echoing what I said to Madoka earlier. It was depressing, but true. I heard that the police were investigating Mayuri's death as a homicide. Anything we said could be taken in bad taste. Everyone needed to mourn her death and move on. That was the best course of action.

"Yeah, I feel the same way." Madoka agreed. "We should have some rest though. I think our seats are this way."

Madoka led us back to our seats next to sleepy Okabe and Kurisu. We sat down and waited out another three hours of travel. We got off at a Tokyo train station and switched to the subway. It was midnight by the time we reached Akihabara.

"I don't know how hard it will be to get you guys a hotel room." Kurisu commented. "We'll bring you to our lab and you can rest there until we find some accommodations."

"Lab?" Madoka questioned. Okabe shook his head.

"It's more of a hobby shop, I guess." He told us. "We do a bit of messing around with electronics. I call it the Future Gadget Laboratory."

Kurisu gave Okabe a weird look. She seemed troubled by his last statement and decided to voice her concerns.

"Mayuri's passing really has impacted on you, hasn't it. Are you really okay, Okabe?"

He doesn't answer her question. Okabe just keeps looking forward. We marched up a staircase and entered this "lab" which was basically an apartment. Madoka and Mami joined me on the couch. I looked around and everyone was exhausted after such a long day of travel, including myself. I could feel my eyelids closing. More time passed and I eventually drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

Several hours later, I woke up to the sound of a TV. I looked over near the door and saw Okabe in front of an old CRT. He had it tuned to a Mitakihara news channel which was reporting on Mayuri's death. Obviously, the police were completely stumped. There were no clues and no leads. There was also no sign of a murder weapon since the witch was destroyed the instant it was defeated.

The reporter also went on to say that the police weren't confident that they could solve this case, which hit Okabe like a ton of bricks. He got up walked over to the other side of the room. Okabe pulled away a curtain, which revealed a weird microwave sitting on the floor. He reached out to touch it, but hesitated for some reason.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. Okabe jumped a bit.

"O-oh, you're awake. I thought you were going to sleep in."

I gave him a cold look of disapproval. Okabe was trying to brush off my question, which wasn't going to happen. He sighed again and switched the TV to a more local channel.

"Listen, Mayuri meant a lot to me and seeing her life end like this really hurts me. It must've been so terrifying getting stabbed like that." Okabe looked back at the microwave. "I just wish I was there to protect her."

This even touched my heart. Okabe was clearly blaming himself for what happened to Mayuri, thinking she died alone and in vain. This was far from the truth. Mayuri died protecting Madoka. She had my eternal gratitude. I wanted to tell him this, I really did. However, what were the chances of Okabe believing me? Near zero probably. I decided to change the subject.

"Where's Kurisu?"

"She's out finding you three a proper hotel room." Okabe answered. He then glanced at the clock hung on the wall across from us. It was 5:10. He then shifted to a worried look.

"Speaking of which, it's been about an hour since she last called me. Time for a quick check in."

Okabe pulled out his phone and called Kurisu, but he hung up after getting only her voicemail.

"That's weird. Kurisu usually answers on the third ring. Maybe she's just talking to someone."

A TV emergency alert was sent out just as Okabe began to calm down. He turned to look at the screen after hearing the warning tones and his blood ran cold. I finally got up from the couch to read the message displayed on the CRT. This obviously disturbed Madoka and Mami, but I paid little attention to that. As those two woke up, I found out what made Okabe freeze up. Apparently, four major rail lines were now shut down due to a terrorist bomb threat.

"Good morning everyone." Madoka cheerfully cried out. "Are we going out for breakfast?"

"No… no… no, no, no!" Okabe yelled at the TV. "This can't be happening! Mayuri's already dead! This must be a…"

Okabe trailed off and looked over at the door. He looked terrified.

"Is something wrong, Okabe-san?" Mami asked him. She was clearly concerned and so was I. What was this man's deal?

"Sorry." Okabe apologized. "I'm just having a serious case of deja vu. I guess it was just my..."

He cut himself off at the sound of multiple pairs of boots against wooden staircase. Before anyone could react, the door flew open and five men with rifles stormed in. Nobody moved, we were all in shock. The men then trained their weapons on us and we all instinctively raised our hands in the air. Honestly, these men didn't really scare me. I could finish them off in an instant with my combat skills. I only didn't act in case Okabe or Madoka got caught in the crossfire. I then heard the sound of high heels on the wooden staircase. A woman in a black jumpsuit walked up to the front of the group and pulled out a handgun, which she proceeded to point at us. She then spoke in a cold, but firm tone.

"Okabe Rintarou, your time machine is now the property of SERN."

******  
(Chapter Seven: Out Now!)


	7. Chapter 7

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Seven

2015.12.25 - 5:25 AM JST  
Friday

We were all dumbfounded. Time seemed to freeze. None of us could believe that this was happening. This appeared to be an armed robbery… and the robbers were after a time machine. So many questions were flying around my head. Nothing was making sense here. Okabe then gave the woman an angry scowl.

"Kiryu Moeka… I thought you skipped town years ago." He stared her down with furious eyes. "If you wanted the Phone Wave, then what took so long?"

"Wait. Okabe-san, you know this person?" Madoka asked him. "How?"

"Well, I…"

Okabe started his explanation, but the sound of several warning shots silenced him. Madoka and Mami flinched in fear. Moeka then gave us an answer in the same flat tone.

"I tried telling FB and the others about your time machine." She told us. "No one believed me. It took five years to convince my superiors that you were a worthy target."

"Who's FB? Your boss I take it?"

Okabe got another warning shot for his smug question. These people were clearly getting aggravated. I didn't get how he wasn't completely freaking out. I could see Madoka and Mami shaking out of the corner of my eye. I was only able to remain calm because I've looked death in the face so many times.

"Time machine?" Mami questioned. "What are you talking about? Isn't time travel impossible?"

"Quiet!" One of the men insisted. He then looked over to Moeka. "Remember our mission, M4. We need to make sure that the device is even here."

Moeka put her gun away and walked passed us. She approached the same strange microwave that Okabe had been studying earlier. Moeka placed her hand on it.

"This is it." She announced to the men. Moeka removed her hand and pulled her gun out again. She pointed it at Madoka. My heart stopped.

"N-no." Okabe cried out. "None of these girls have anything to do with the Phone Wave. I haven't told them anything. You don't need to kill anyone."

"You told them my name." Moeka said as she switched off the safety. "I'm sorry, but that information must be erased."

I could see her finger pulling down on the trigger in slow motion. The bullet flew through the air and struck Madoka right between the eyes. I then looked away. Out of all the times I had seen Madoka die, this was by far the most gruesome and the most impactful. I fell to my knees in an uncontrollable outburst of emotion. Mami whipped out her soul gem, just to have it shattered by another gunshot. This killed her instantly. I barely had enough time to pull out my own soul gem before they pointed their guns at me. No. This couldn't be the end. I had to restart time again and save Madoka. I couldn't do that if I was dead.

Just as I sensed the gunmen were about to pull their triggers, Okabe ran up and slammed into them. They fell over like a line of dominos. He then grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the apartment. More shots were fired. Much to my horror, I lost the grip I had on my soul gem during our quick exit. It flew out of my hand and landed on the lab's beaten up hardwood floor. Regardless, we kept running. There was no time to explain what a soul gem was. However, we got about eighty metres away and I realized that I had to say something.

"Okabe-san, we need to stop soon." I informed him. "I can't go on much longer."

"What?" Okabe asked me. "Don't you get it? Those people want to kill you. We have to keep moving. Wait for your adrenaline to kick in."

"You don't understand." I told him. "I… dropped something back at the lab. I literally cannot go more than a hundred metr…"

I stopped my sentence once I passed that one hundred metre threshold. I could feel Okabe catching me as I collapsed. I was about to faint. I could hear Okabe crying out to me, but I knew that wouldn't do any good. Everything then faded to black.

* * *

I woke up in the back room of a computer repair store. I carefully got up and glanced out the front display window. This store was directly across the street from Okabe's apartment. I was about to walk to out the back door when I felt someone grab me by the collar. I forced their hand off me and turned around ready for a fight. I relaxed when I realized it was Okabe.

"Thank goodness you're awake." He whispered to me. "You weren't kidding about the one hundred metre thing, were you?" He asked me, slightly amused by this whole thing. "What exactly happened there? What did you drop?"

I sighed. I really didn't want to tell him about magical girls, but I had little choice. I also thought Okabe deserved an explanation after saving my butt twice. Still, I tried to prepare myself for a long and drawn out conversation.

"I have this thing called a soul gem." I softly told him. "It grants me certain special powers, but it moves my mental processing away my brain. As a result, I can't travel more than one hundred metres from the object. That's what I dropped."

Okabe gave me a weird look. I couldn't tell if he thought I was crazy or if he actually believed me. I could then see an idea pop into his head.

"Wait a minute… soul gem?"

Okabe slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He swiped the screen a few times and showed me a photo. It showed Okabe and Mayuri posing in front of a water fountain. I didn't understand why he was showing this, until Okabe pointed at a bright turquoise gemstone sitting in Mayuri's hands. It was her soul gem.

"This is a soul gem, right?"

This question came as a bit of a surprise. Did Okabe hear the term 'soul gem' before? Did Mayuri mention it? She must have. I didn't say anything, but Okabe was still able to pull an answer out of me. My face must've conveyed a lot. Okabe sat down and laid back on a disused office chair.

"That's what I thought." He said as he looked down at the floor. "Mayuri always held this gemstone very close to her heart. She treasured it greatly. I think she valued it even more than her late Grandmother's pocket watch." He paused and looked back up at me. "What kind of special powers are we talking about?"

"It varies from person to person." I informed him. "It can be anything from healing spells, to enchanted swords, to levitation."

Okabe sighed and shook his head. He looked unconvinced, but he strangely still trusted me for some reason.

"Okay. I don't completely believe you on this, but at the same time I don't think you're trying to deceive me with such a crazy story."

Okabe paused and looked out the front window like I did earlier. He then continued

"Point is, we don't have time for this discussion. Moeka and her men are still looking for us and we're running out hiding spots. We need to make our move now."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" I asked him. I assumed he wanted just to grab my soul gem and run, which wouldn't be a bad plan if it was thought out correctly. Okabe's answer was unexpected though.

"You my friend, are going to become the world's second time traveller."

******  
(Chapter Eight: Out Now!)


	8. Chapter 8

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Eight

2015.12.25 - 6:23 AM JST  
Friday

When Okabe said this, I took a step back. He wanted me to travel back in time and save everyone? How did Okabe come up with this? There's no way he could know about my time travel magic. I thought about this and then remembered an important detail from that terrifying break-in.

"Those robbers said they were after a time machine…" I stopped to process exactly what I was about to ask. "You didn't actually build a time machine, did you?"

"I did." Okabe confirmed. "Or rather I built it as part of a team. Kurisu and Daru deserve credit too."

This was news to me. I honestly never thought that mechanical time travel was a feasible technology, but I guess it wasn't too far-fetched. Okabe then suddenly grabbed my hand.

"I know this is a lot for you to take in." He said this as he sighed and crouched down to my eye level. "You just saw two of your friends murdered right in front of your eyes and what I'm asking you to do will be very painful after seeing that."

Okabe paused again and pointed at his right ear, which was covered in blood. It appeared that a bullet had grazed the side of his head during our escape. I had somehow not noticed this during our entire conversation.

"But I can't hear anything out of this ear right now." Okabe continued. "This injury means I probably can't use the Phone Wave and Kurisu isn't answering her phone. I'm afraid we'll just have to assume she's either dead or captured. You're practically all we have."

Okabe seemed even more serious than usual. It was clear that he wanted me to think this over carefully, which was pretty hard considering all that happened.

"Say no more." I told him. "I'll do it."

I didn't completely understand what I was getting myself into, but I would do it if it could save Madoka. Okabe then forced a smile on his face. He then slowly opened the back door and led me out of the computer repair shop. We snuck through another alley and then back out onto the street. We quickly made it across and flew up the staircase leading up to the lab. The room stunk of blood, but we both tried to focus on our mission as supposed to the two dead bodies in the room. Unfortunately, the door had been busted after it was kicked open. We couldn't even lock it to buy time. This meant we had to act fast.

Okabe immediately jumped into action. He started by running over and turning on various desktop computers. While they were booting up, he also used a universal remote to switch on a TV downstairs. That was followed by Okabe plugging in that strange microwave thing from earlier and he started to play around with its interface.

During this time, I managed to find my soul gem. I held it in my hand and silently transformed into my magical girl outfit when Okabe had his back turned. I reached for the mechanism I used to reset time. I knew it wasn't very nice to just leave Okabe like this, but we were short on time and I figured my time travel magic would probably be more reliable than whatever he had up his sleeve.

I flipped the switch to reset everything without hesitation, but nothing happened. I did it again, still nothing. This made no sense. Why wasn't this working? It was only day four, I was supposed to be able to press reset for a whole month. What was happening here? It didn't take long for me to determine what was wrong. That one month time frame was based on the wish I made after Madoka's death during the battle with Walpurgisnacht. If the date of her death was changed to today, does that mean the amount of time I have to save her has also been tampered with? Did I only have four days of sand in my hourglass now? If that was true, then I had to use Okabe's time machine now. I only had a certain amount of time after Madoka's death to press reset and I spent all that time passed out.

I saw Okabe's head turning around. I barely switched back to my normal clothes before he would've spotted me. I sighed in relief. Okabe then walked up to me.

"Okay. It's almost ready. Let's get you set up."

He pulled me over to the microwave thing. I sat down. Okabe grabbed a weird headset and placed it on my head. He then pulled out his phone and handed it to me.

"Enter your cell phone number here." Okabe instructed me. I did what he asked and looked up from the screen with a puzzled expression.

"What's this for?" I didn't understand why Okabe needed my number. He took his phone back and looked down.

"What we're going to do is attempt to send your memories back in time." Okabe told me. "I'm going to copy your memories and send them to your cell phone in the past through a miniature black hole created inside this microwave." Okabe paused again. "Does that make sense?"

"Sounds like scientific BS." I told him honestly. "But I guess I'll put aside that judgment until we actually try it."

"That's what I like to hear." Okabe then walked over to one of the computers to check something. He then turned back to me.

"Okay. We're all ready to go." He informed me. "I've set the time machine to two days ago. You should arrive on Wednesday at around 6:30 AM. All I want you to do is contact me as soon as possible and explain what happened… or rather what's going to happen. I'll take it from there."

"What if you don't believe me?" I asked him. Okabe shook his head.

"Trust me, I will believe you. I've… I've dealt with this sort of thing before."

I felt a great amount of sadness in Okabe's voice as he said this. I was about to ask for more information, but we then heard the sound of footsteps coming back up the stairs. It was the gunmen, we had literally no time left. Without a word, Okabe reached over and press the start button on the microwave. Several waves of bright electricity were omitted from the kitchen appliance. I instinctively took a step back from this dangerous light show. I then saw Okabe press talk on his phone, which began a painfully long series of ringtones. The gunmen clued into what was going on and started running up the stairs. They reached the top and pointed their weapons at us. However, I heard Okabe's phone call connect just as they were lining up their rifles. I felt a sudden blistering pain in my head and everything faded to black.

******  
(Chapter Nine: Out Now!)


	9. Chapter 9

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Nine

2015.12.23 - 6:37 AM JST  
Wednesday

When I regained consciousness, it was instant. I was sitting up in my bed with my phone in my hand. This was quite peculiar. What was I doing sitting up like this? I took a moment to check the date. Every calendar I saw said it was Wednesday, yet I had memories of Thursday and Friday too. Did Okabe's time machine actually work? It had to. There's no way I could've just dreamt that trip to Tokyo, my gut told me it had to be real. This meant I had two days to prevent Madoka from dying and I cannot drop my soul gem like I did last time.

On that note, I threw on my uniform and washed up before heading out the door. I then ran into Madoka and her friend group again. Nothing really felt off until Madoka greeted me.

"Hi, Homura-chan. How are you doing? Would you like to join us?"

This was probably exactly the same wording that she used last time, that's not what made my brain stop. I froze when I realized that Madoka called me by name. She still knew who I was. This was big. When I went back in time before, I would always reset to the morning before I met Madoka. That didn't happen here, it was day two. I hadn't lost my relationship with her this time. Sayaka then spoke up, pulling me back to reality.

"Hey transfer student, are you okay? You're spacing out."

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." I lied to them again. I was still trying to process everything that happened. I looked down the street. We were about ten minutes from the school.

"We should get going now." I told them. I tried to appear friendlier, but it was clearly not working very well. In fact, no one seemed to notice at all.

"Yep." Madoka answered. She then turned to me. "Do you accept my invitation, Homura-chan?"

"Of course." I replied to her. Madoka smiled as she grabbed my arm.

"You're new to town, right?" She asked me. "Let me show you the way."

Madoka then led me to the school, with Sayaka and Hitomi following behind us. I was getting the usual sense of deja vu. This was all noticeably similar to the last loop. I realized I had to start making impactful changes if I didn't want a repeat of that break-in at Okabe's place.

That name entered my head again. Okabe. He wanted me to contact him once I arrived back here. I was unsure whether or not I really should do that, but I guess that didn't really matter. I didn't know his phone number or email address and a letter sent through the mail would take too long. This thought was still with me after we arrived at school. I felt Shiina Mayuri approach me from behind during math class.

"Hi Homura." She greeted me. "Would you like any help with your work?"

"No. It's fine." I said this as I shook my head. Actually, I had lived this moment so many times that I probably knew more about this problem than the teacher. Mayuri put on a childish grin.

"Okay. We'll be meeting up later tonight though. Don't be afraid to ask me something if you get stuck."

Mayuri then turned her back and headed over to assist another student. My mind then shifted back to that question regarding contacting Okabe. An idea then popped into my mind.

"Shiina-san." I called out to her. "Could I borrow your phone? Mine is dead."

Mayuri looked at me with a curious expression. She then reached into her purse and pulled out her phone.

"Here it is." She said to me, her smile returning. "Let me unlock it for you."

Mayuri entered her passcode and handed her phone to me. I accepted it with my usual blank expression. We then heard the sound of bell marking the end of class.

"Thank you." I thanked her. "Let me quickly go out to the hallway. I'll be right back."

With that, I stepped out into the hallway and scrolled through Mayuri's contacts list. Truth be told, my phone was fine. I just remembered that Okabe and Mayuri were childhood friends. If I was lucky, Okabe's number would be on this phone. I found no entry for Okabe, but I did find an entry for an Okarin though. It was a Tokyo number, so I thought that this could just be a nickname for Okabe. I pressed the call button and the other phone rang for a bit. Then the person on the other end picked up.

"Hi Mayuri." Okabe's voice greeted me. "Aren't you in class right now?"

"She is." I told him in my usual cold tone. "But there's something important I need to tell you."

I paused to collect my thoughts. Okabe was obviously not expecting me to be on the other end of this phone call. He grew angry and untrusting.

"Who is this? How did you get Mayuri's cell phone?"

"Don't worry. I'm only borrowing it." I assured him. "I just thought you should know what's going to happen tonight. At 6:30 PM, Shiina Mayuri will di…"

I held back this crucial information at the last possible second. What was I doing? If Okabe actually believed this information, he would surely want to interfere. A witch fight is a dangerous place, an unarmed man would only get in the way. I had to go on without him. I would try to save Mayuri tonight, but I wouldn't stop if I failed. I would keep going until Madoka was dead too. That's what I decided. I hung up on Okabe without another word. I didn't want him calling back, so I also shut the phone off and took out the battery. I slipped the battery into my pocket and returned the phone to Mayuri in the classroom.

"Thank you again letting me borrow this." I told her. "I afraid it died shortly after I used it though."

Mayuri took her phone back and tried the power button. Nothing happened. Her face shifted to a confused expression.

"That's weird. I thought I charged it this morning." She mumbled to herself. "Maybe there's something wrong with it. I'll have to try charging it when I get home."

I then left Mayuri in the classroom and headed to the cafeteria for my lunch break. I walked in just in time to hear Sayaka's comment again.

"I don't know, Madoka… doesn't Homura seem a bit off to you?" She paused for form her thoughts. "She doesn't really engage with me when I talk to her. How do you two get along so well?"

"I… I'm not sure." Madoka admitted. "I guess we just click better. I feel that she's just more open to me for some reas…"

Madoka cut herself off as I sat down across from them. I looked down at my food, pretending that I didn't hear anything. Madoka then brought up something else.

"Hey Homura-chan, are you okay? Was last night that rough on you?"

I looked up to see Madoka's concerned frown. She was really worried about me, wasn't she? I sighed and gave her my answer.

"Last night was no problem." I told her. "...Other things have been bothering me."

I shuttered as an image of Madoka getting shot flashed into my mind. I then pushed it out.

"Well, if you want someone to talk to I'd be happy to fill that role." Madoka offered. "What do you say?"

"I'll take a raincheck." I robotically replied. Madoka was taken back by this response. She didn't know what I was hiding and I had to keep it that way. After several false starts, the conversion finally began and we started discussing less heavy topics.

The rest of the day went on as normal and I went to Mami's apartment with Madoka like last time. On the way there, I tried to warn Madoka about the dangers of being a magical girl. My objective was to try to scare her away from making a contract. I also had another plan for when we went witch hunting, but that wasn't completely thought out at this point.

Madoka and I arrived at Mami's door. She let us in and served us tea while we waited for Mayuri. I was expecting her to come through the door at 5:30 with two shopping bags in her hands. However, 5:30 came and went with no word from her. Madoka and Mami were getting a bit worried. They tried calling Mayuri and that obviously didn't work since I still had her phone's battery in my pocket. I knew one thing though. Something I did today caused this change.

Seven o'clock hit. Even I was getting concerned with what could be going on. It was already thirty minutes past Mayuri's time of death. Did she get delayed and die somewhere else? Were we waiting for someone who would never arrive? As I thought about this, Mami's phone went off. She glanced at the number and looked puzzled.

"What's wrong, Mami-san?" Madoka asked her. "Is that Shiina-san calling?"

"No…" Mami began. "It also looks like an international number. I'm not sure if I should answer this…"

Mami sighed and pressed talk. She brought the phone up to her ear and greeted the person on the end.

"Hello? Who is this?" I could tell that Mami was nervous. However, her eyes instantly lit up when she heard the answer.

"Oh, Mayuri-san? Thank goodness. We were quite worried. No, no, you don't need to apologize. I'm just glad you're okay. I am curious though. Where are you?"

There was a short pause as Mayuri replied back. I saw that Madoka was getting excited. Honestly, I was happy to hear that she was alive too. Mami's eyes widened as she heard Mayuri response.

"Seoul?" Mami questioned. "You mean Seoul, South Korea? You're serious?"

There was another pause as more information was exchanged. Mami went from a bit puzzled to complete confusion. She then looked at me and tilted her head.

"Homura? Yeah, she's right here. Why do you…?"

Mami cut herself off as she listened to Mayuri more. She walked up to me and shook her head before handing me her phone.

"Mayuri wants to talk to you." Mami told me. "I'm not sure why."

I took the phone and held it up to my ear. I didn't know what to expect. I then heard a ruffling sound on the other end of the line. I also heard two faint voices. They appeared to be arguing.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" I asked them. I then got an unexpected response. An angry Okabe scolded me from over the phone.

"Okay little girl, tell me who you are and what exactly you meant during our last phone call."

******  
(Chapter Ten: Out Now!)


	10. Chapter 10

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Ten

2015.12.23 - 7:05 PM JST  
Wednesday

I wasn't sure how to answer Okabe's question. I knew I had to come clean now. I had no idea why they were in South Korea, but I had a few theories. I was about to open my mouth, but I realized Mami and Madoka were here with me. The couldn't discuss this stuff in front of them.

"Just give me a second." I said this and removed the phone from my ear. I walked out of Mami's apartment and out into the hallway. I then resumed my conversation with Okabe.

"Sorry about that." This apology carried no real weight and my voice reflected that. Okabe was still quite angry, I had to answer his question now.

"I'll get right to the point." I told him. "I used your time machine. I came from two days in the future. Shiina-san was actually going to die earlier tonight."

"R-really?" Okabe's cold and intimidating mood went away. "I thought that could've been a possibility at first, but I kind of dismissed it. I thought you were probably a SERN agent, but I guess that's unlikely considering your age."

There was that name again. SERN. My blood instantly boiled. The woman who shot Madoka, she was from this SERN organization. I wanted to get right to the bottom of who these people were.

"What's SERN?" I asked him. "I have a bone to pick with them too."

"I'm sure you do." Okabe paused and sighed. "However, I don't really want to disclose that kind of information over the phone. Is there a place we can meet up in Mitakihara? Somewhere private?"

"I guess there's my house." I answered. "My parents… aren't in town. We'll be all by ourselves. I can email the address to Mayuri if you want."

"That sounds good." He told me. "I'll talk to you tomorrow afternoon then."

Okabe then hung up before I could say anything more. I lowered the phone from my ear again and slapped my forehead. I wanted answers more than anything else, but all I got was a promise of some information later. I headed back inside and placed Mami's phone down on the table.

"Is Mayuri-san okay?" Mami asked me. "Why was she in Seoul?"

"I don't know." I told her honestly. "I'm sure she's fine though. I've got the feeling that she'll be back Japan sometime tomorrow."

I walked over and my seat at the table. I took another sip of my cold tea.

"Are we still going out tonight?" I asked them. "It's getting late."

"I… guess not." Mami said, clearly a bit disappointed. "We'll postpone this until tomorrow."

With that, Madoka and I left Mami's apartment and I walked her over to the train station. I was still worried about her, but there wasn't much I could do. We parted ways as we boarded two different lines to go home. The rest of the night was uneventful as I went to bed.

I woke up and headed to school like always. I even met Madoka and her friends in front school just like the day before. Madoka wasn't confined to her room today since Mayuri wasn't killed right in front of her eyes. I was relieved, but I also felt uneasy. I was in uncharted waters again, I had no idea what was going to happen next. This meant that Madoka could die at any time and I had to be prepared for that.

School went on as usual. I did hear about Mayuri's trip to Korea during our lunch break. It appeared that she flew back the night before. Apparently, Mayuri didn't really know why Okabe brought her out of the country, only that he looked really concerned and refused to talk about it. This upset Mayuri quite a bit, but she did a good job of not showing it. Before I knew it, the school day was over too. It was time met up with Okabe. I approached my front door and he was waiting for me, sitting on the steps. Our eyes met.

"You're Homura Akemi, I assume."

"Yes." I told him. "Come inside, we have a lot to discuss."

I let Okabe in and the first thing he noticed was all the enchanted decorations. The stuff really jumped out. I knew I had to say something.

"I'll explain all this in a bit, you tell me your story first. What's SERN? How do you have a fully working time machine?"

At the end of my question, Okabe sighed and sat down. Something told me that I was getting the long answer.

"On the surface, SERN is a simple research organization. It's the Society for European Nuclear Research. They conduct physics experiments."

"That doesn't explain why they kicked down your door." I butted in. "Or why they would shoot Madoka."

"I'm getting there." Okabe said this and looked down at the ground. "I was just outlining what their public image looks like. They do a lot of horrible things behind closed doors."

Okabe gave me a few examples of those terrible inhuman actions taken by SERN. Like repeatedly killing test subjects for their time machine program despite the fact that the chances of success were astronomically low. Okabe also went into detail about the chain of events that lead to the creation of his time machine. He leaned back in his chair and held the back of his head in his hands.

"...so I left myself wide open for SERN's attack when I finished the time leap machine. They killed Mayuri and I time lept to save her. I repeated the same endless loop at least thirty times. I never had much luck though."

I immediately stopped what I was doing and looked up at Okabe. My mouth hung open. Did he just say time loop? He was once in a time loop to save Mayuri? Maybe Okabe knew something I didn't. Maybe he knew a way to save Madoka.

"H-how did you save her in the end?" I asked him with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. "I mean you clearly succeeded. Mayuri's alive and well last time I checked."

"I'm not so sure I did anything." He told me, dead serious. "She just didn't die this time. SERN never attacked either. Even the shooter, who I knew personally, landed up skipping town. I don't know what happened and it still bothers me."

A frown formed on my face and I looked back down on the floor. Okabe noticed my sudden slip back into a state of misery. He looked like he wanted to say something, but the words weren't coming out. Okabe then changed the topic.

"So what's your story?" He asked me. "I assume you have something to say about Mayuri's death. It was supposed to be last night, right?"

"Yes, it was." I confirmed. "But my priority is Madoka, not Mayuri. She's due to die in…"

I stopped again. Why was I just revealing this private information? For the longest time, I thought that I had toughened up so much that I was confident I could go through the most intensive police interrogations without breaking a sweat. Why was I being so soft right now? Okabe heard what I said. He stood up and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Madoka? That's a nice name." He commented. "One of your friends, I take it? Or maybe a sister? Something like that?"

I didn't answer his question. I just kept looking door at the floor. Okabe sighed as he removed his hand and sat back down. He then cleared his throat.

"Listen, I want to help you. I really do. But I need information. You said this person is going to die, right? I know whatever you saw must've been so horrible and traumatizing." Okabe paused and looked at me right in the eyes.

"So please tell me what happened. You look like a tough girl, but I can tell you're suffering. I'm willing to help you save this Madoka person, but not if you're going to keep me in the dark."

I looked back at him. He seemed sincere. He also built a time machine so the time travel aspect of my story won't sound that far-fetched. Maybe Okabe could help me. I guess I just needed to explain my magic to him, which won't be an easy task. I sighed and began my story.

"It all started when I transferred into Mayuri's school a few days ago…"

******  
(Chapter Eleven: Out Now!)


	11. Chapter 11

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Eleven

2015.12.24 - 3:45 PM JST  
Thursday

Once I started talking, I just couldn't stop. I told Okabe all about my first few loops. How I've seen Madoka die over and over and over. About the existence of magical girls and what that means in the grand scheme of things. Okabe, remarkably, never interrupted me to disprove any of this ridiculous information. In fact, he actually stopped me a few times to ask for clarification. By the time I had finished, I was crying. It finally happened. I got up to get some tissues to blow my nose. I grabbed the whole box and sat back down across the table from Okabe. He crossed his arms.

"What you've told me… it's quite a story." Okabe closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm not sure what to say.

"It's entirely the truth." I told him. "Are you going to help me?"

"The way I see it, I don't have a choice." He replied with a sarcastic laugh. "I can't sit back while a fourteen-year-old girl is suffering. Hououin Kyouma is cold, but not that cold. Our goals are pretty well aligned anyway. It only makes sense."

"Hououin Kyouma? What?"

Okabe blew off my question and stood up again. He seemed… different. More triumphant.

"I guess this is only a formality at this point, but I still feel it appropriate." He then paused and pointed at me. "I officially declare you, Akemi Homura, lab member 009!"

"Lab member?" I questioned. "I'm a member of your lab now? You can just do that?"

"Of course, it is my lab after all."

Something had definitely changed. Okabe was all smug and arrogant right now. This didn't last long though. His smile disappeared and so did his goofy face.

"I just thought of something. Could you demonstrate your magic? I think actually seeing it will be more convincing than anything you could say."

He was right. I told him all about it, I might as well show him too. I still had plenty of magic left. It's not like I was in desperate need of a grief seed or something. I switched over to my magical girl outfit with a simple flick of the thrust. The transformation made Okabe jump in surprise. He was astounded as I stood there, now wearing my bold purple costume. Okabe then regained his composure enough to make a coherent comment.

"Wow. That's actually quite impressive all by itself. You can multiplate time too?"

"Yes, follow me."

I led Okabe over to a window looking out to a busy road. Cars were just flying by non-stop. There were also plenty of pedestrians as well. I had this whole canvas of movement of play around with and make my point. I grabbed hold of Okabe's arm with one hand and grabbed hold of the shield's time control mechanism with the other

"I'm going to freeze time now." I told him. "Don't let go of me, otherwise you'll freeze too."

"Got it." Okabe confirmed this with a nod.

I pulled down the switch and everything stopped in its tracks. People froze mid-walk and the vehicles looked like something shot with a high speed camera. In fact, this entire scene must've appeared like a photograph to Okabe as he tilted and turned his head into different positions to prove that this wasn't an illusion. I restored everything to normal once I knew he was convinced.

"I'm… speechless." He said with a sigh. "It's a little scary to know this kind of power exists."

"If it makes you feel any better, I use my magic very responsibly." I assured him. "I was given these powers for a reason..."

"...to save Kaname Madoka." Okabe finished my thought. We then walked back over to where we were seated before. It was time to formulate a battle plan.

Our first objective was to determine when and where their deaths will take place. We weren't going to just let them die, but we needed to know when to expect it. I had screwed around with the timeline (or worldline) quite a bit since I got back here. Madoka died at 5 AM on December 25th last time, but who knows what will happen this time. Mayuri was also very much a wildcard as her death could've been a fluke. However, it's also possible whatever stopped her from dying five years ago could've only been a temporary fix.

It was settled. I was going to hang around Madoka and Okabe was going to hang around Mayuri. If something happened, we would immediately alert the other person and record the time and place. Honestly, we both thought this plan was a bit cold, but we didn't any other ideas. We were waist deep in the unknown and we needed some starting point.

We ended the meeting with a firm headshake and Okabe made his exit. I soon realized the time and headed out the door myself. It was getting late and I had to meet with Madoka before we headed to Mami's apartment for tonight's witch hunt. I was excited, but also nervous.

******  
(Chapter Twelve: Out Now!)


	12. Chapter 12

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Twelve

2015.12.24 - 5:53 PM JST

Thursday

I was starting to get used to this new routine. Here I was, sitting in Mami's apartment once again with Madoka at my side. Mayuri's lateness was becoming a running theme as we all patiently waited for her to arrive. However, when did she come through the door, it was revealed that she brought Okabe with her. Our eyes meet again. He walked across the room and grabbed me by the arm. I then froze time so we could talk this out.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me aggressively. "Weren't you going witch hunting tonight?"

"Yes, that's exactly what we're about to do." I replied. "Mayuri's part of our magical girl group. Didn't I already tell you that?"

"No! You only told me that it was a witch killed her last time! You said nothing about Mayuri being a magical girl herself!"

Okabe was about to let go of my arm, but then remembered what I said earlier. If he released his grip, he would freeze too.

"I.. I just can't believe this is happening." Okabe said with an angry sigh. "Mayuri has always been pretty happy. What kind of wish would she even make?"

"Why don't you ask her, if you're so curious." I told him. "I'm sure she'll tell you."

Okabe looked down at the floor and sighed again. I took this as my cue to restore the flow of time back to normal. Everyone's heads slowly turned as towards us as Okabe let go of me and took several awkward steps back. They all clearly wanted to know what just happened, but none of them had the courage to ask this question.

"Hi, my name is Okabe Rintarou." Okabe introduced himself. "I'm an old friend of Mayuri." He then paused and put on a forced smile. "There's… there's no need to hide anything from me. I'm aware of the whole magical girl thing."

I could see Madoka and Mami suddenly switched to a look of curiosity. Mayuri didn't take this nearly as well.

"Wha-WHAT?" Mayuri screamed in surprise. "When… when did you find out, Okarin? How long have you known?"

"I… found out earlier today." Okabe responded. "Homura told me."

I could feel everyone's gaze focusing on me again. I decided to tell a white lie to help ease the tension.

"He spotted me fighting some familiars this morning. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Fair enough." Mami commented. Mayuri's eyes then suddenly lit up.

"Wow. So you two met and made up after what happened yesterday?"

Right. The battery removal incident. I totally forgot about that. Okabe and I kind of got passed that. Madoka then nervously butted in.

"Um, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, but we are going witch haunting tonight, right?"

"Yes, we are." Mami confirmed. She then turned to Okabe. "Would you like to come along? We could use the company."

"S-sure." Okabe accepted the invitation. "But I don't have any way to defend myself. What happens if things go sour?"

Just as Okabe finished his sentence, I reached into the hidden compartment in my shield and pulled out a simple pistol. I then handed it to Okabe, who hesitantly accepted it.

"Thank you… I guess." Okabe took another look at the weapon and shuttered a bit. "Isn't this model of gun illegal except for police and military use?"

"Yes." I told him. "Your point being?"

This shut Okabe up pretty well. It was then time to head out. We used the same formation as last time, except Okabe was now sandwiched between Madoka and I. We did a ton of walking, but we didn't encounter a single witch's labyrinth. Or rather Mami and Mayuri didn't encounter anything. I had a similar mental radar to Mami that I used to find witches and farm grief seeds, but mine had a much longer range. I could sense a witch's labyrinths long before Mami would even know it was there. I tried to prevent Mayuri's fate by freezing time and defeating every witch before it was a blip on anyone else's radar. In total, I did this about four times before the fatigue started to get to me. About two hours in, Okabe decided to ask Mayuri the question that had been truly bugging him.

"Mayuri, what wish did you make when you became a magical girl?"

"Oh? That?" Mayuri asked with a smile. "Well, it's kind of silly looking back on it now."

"You didn't wish for a dozen metal Opas, did you?" Okabe cracked a joke. "Please tell me you didn't."

Mami turned a cornered as we exited yet another alleyway. Mayuri giggled at Okabe's question.

"Very funny, Okarin. No, I actually wished for…"

Mayuri tried off as we entered a park. There was someone in a red dress about two hundred metres ahead of us. As we got closer, I realized this person was Kyoko. What was she doing here? Mami soon signaled for us to stop, but she proceeded even closer.

"The prodigal mentor has returned." Kyoko mocked Mami. "Are you here to give me more baseless lectures on morals?"

"Listen, Kyoko." Mami addressed her former student. "I'm not here to start a fight and I hope that's the same with you."

"That's funny." Kyoko remarked. "What are you doing violating my turf then?"

"This park is public property." Mami responded. "I have the same right to be here as you do."

Kyoko showed us a dark smile and raised her spear up in the air. I could already tell where this was going. This wasn't going to end well.

"Sorry, but I have to disagree."

Kyoko then charged Mami head on. Mami had time to transform into her magical girl outfit, but this left her no time to defend herself. Kyoko's attack was about to strike Mami right in the face, but Mayuri intervened. She used her levitation to slam into Kyoko with great speed. This caused Kyoko to fly back into a lamp post. This really didn't hurt her, except for maybe her pride. Kyoko stands back up to face her new foe.

"You're… you're a big one." She taunted Mayuri, referring to her age. "I assume that you won't be a pushover then. Don't disappointment me."

Kyoko charged Mayuri this time, just for her to use her levitation jump out of the way. She turned towards the rest of us as Kyoko prepared to attack again.

"You guys get outta here!" Mayuri cried out. "Let me deal with this!"

We nodded and Mami then led us back out of park. However, she stopped once we reached the gate.

"Go on without me." Mami told us. "I want to be here as backup in case Mayuri runs into trouble."

"Me too." Okabe replied. "I'm worried about her."

"That's good for you two, but I don't want Madoka getting caught in the crossfire." I told them. "How can I get her home?"

"There should be a subway station about six blocks east of here." Mami said as pointed down the road. "That should get you to central station."

I nodded again as I grabbed Madoka's hand and the two of us started running. We ran this distance with little issues and we arrived at the station. We found out the train was delayed and I glanced at the clock. It was nearly 9 PM. It certainly seemed like I succeeded in keeping Mayuri alive, at least for a few hours. Clearly either her death last time was a fluke, or that 6:30 time of death wasn't set in stone.

Either way, Madoka and I were watching as the train was finally arriving at the station. This is when I heard a familiar cry coming from behind us. It was Sayaka. She snuck up behind Madoka to surprise her with a hug. That's when it happened. Sayaka had a lot momentum as she ran up to us and she couldn't stop in time. Sayaka ended up pushing Madoka onto the tracks just as the train was approaching. In a panic, I tried to freeze time before Madoka could meet this fate, but it was too late. By the time everything froze, Madoka had already been run over.

I had another emotional meltdown. It wasn't even the 25th yet. Why did she have to die early this time? I managed to barely get myself together and I left the station while everything was still frozen. I knew from last time that I had very little sand left in my hourglass, so I walked all the way back to the park with time frozen. I didn't care. I found Okabe holding Mayuri's body at the side of a busy highway. I said 'body' because Mayuri was definitely dead with the types injuries she had stained. Okabe was also on the verge of crying, which helped support this assumption. I finally restored the flow of time so we could talk. Okabe looked up at me.

"You… you got here fast. Where's Madoka?"

"Dead." I informed him. "Same thing with Mayuri, I assume?"

Okabe didn't reply to my question. He just looked back down at Mayuri's bleeding corpse. I guess this could be considered an answer all by itself. Okabe gently set her down on the soft grass and spoke to her.

"Mayuri… you were far too kind."

Okabe then slowly stood back up and turned to me. He explained to me what happened.

"Dur… during their fight, Mayuri accidentally flung that Kyoko girl onto this highway. She gave her life saving that ass hole in red."

Okabe looked back down at Mayuri. His eyes squinted.

"I'm sorry Mayuri, but that girl wasn't worth it."

There was a moment of silence for those what had just lost. I transformed into my magical girl outfit and prepared to flip the switch in my shield again. It was time for a reset.

"I'm going to go back to Tuesday morning." I said to him. I reached out my hand. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Yeah."

Okabe grabbed hold of my hand. I then pulled down the lever and we were blasted into the past.

******  
(Chapter Thirteen: Out Now!)


	13. Chapter 13

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Thirteen

2015.12.22 - 7:33 AM JST  
Tuesday

I woke up again and slowly sat up in my bed. I was back to square one, just great. It was now Tuesday and everything had been reset. Perhaps, this clean slate would be useful, but I still felt a hole in my heart every time I had to do this.

I did my best to shake off this feeling as I threw on my uniform. I switched on the TV as I washed up. There was a news bulletin about something that happened in Akihabara. Apparently, a satellite had crashed into a building there. This briefly got my attention because it was near Okabe's lab, but it quickly became apparent that no one was injured. It was funny, this was another thing I didn't remember from any past loops. I thought maybe I should ask Okabe about it later.

I made the trip to the school with little fanfare. I stood just outside the door of the classroom as the teacher introduced me.

"Come on, Ms. Akemi. Don't be shy."

I walked up to the front of the class and corrected my name on the whiteboard. I did a little bow and headed to my seat. The teacher then made another familiar statement.

"I would also like to introduce a university student who will be helping me out with this class. Please say hello to Shiina Mayuri."

Mayuri then entered the classroom just like she did last time. She turned to the class and smiled.

"Tuturu. My name is Mayuri, but you can also call Mayushii. I hope I can be some help."

I was expecting the class to finally start, but another girl showed up at the door. She was about our age, had short black hair and was wearing proper dress code. The teacher looked over at her, just as confused as we were.

"Um, can I help you?" The teacher asked the girl.

"Yes. I transferred into your class last night." The girl coldly responded. "Your class list should've been updated."

The teacher pulled out her phone and scrolled through the electronic database. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh, yes. I apologize. It's been quite a day for new arrivals."

The girl walked up to the whiteboard and wrote her name beside mine. There was a bit of an uproar once she finished writing. Personally, I couldn't believe what I saw. She turned around and introduced herself.

"Good morning, my name is Kaname Homura. It's nice to meet you."

This second Homura bowed as well and took the first available seat. She was surrounded by a group of students minutes after class ended. I guess she had stolen my thunder. Not that I really cared.

"Hey Houmra." One of the students addressed the other girl. "What school did you transfer from?"

"I've actually been homeschooled my entire life." The girl replied. "I've never even been in a school before last night. As a result, I may not be aware of all the social customs here. I apologize in advance."

That was something pretty weird to say, even I picked up on that. Another student stepped up to the plate. They looked up at the whiteboard and back at this mysterious girl.

"Wait…isn't the other transfer student also named Homura? It's a funny coincidence, but how are we going to tell you two apart?"

"Call me Kaname in that case."

"But that won't work either. We have a classmate with that name too."

This other Homura looked down and sighed. She then turned back towards the source of the question.

"I guess the name K.H. will have to do then."

I watched this conversation go on and got a serious case of deja vu. K.H. was handling this the exact same way I would. Cold and a bit disinterested. Regardless, it was time to talk to Madoka. I got up from my seat and K.H. did as well. She blocked my path.

"Akemi Homura, could we quickly step out into the hallway? There's something I would like to discuss with you."

This was very strange. K.H. was asking me to leave the room with her? No, I wanted to make contact with Madoka. I tried to go around her, but K.H. grabbed me by the arm.

"I insist." She told me.

I bit my lip. I didn't feel like I had much of a choice here. This girl seemed pretty persistent.

"Very well."

I shook off her grip and we filed out of the classroom, heading to nowhere in particular. If K.H. did have a destination in mind, I certainly didn't know. There was a few minutes of awkward silence before I felt I had to break the ice.

"Um, you wanted to talk to me about something, K.H.?

"Call me Honda." She told me.

"Huh? Wait, didn't you tell those other students to call you K.H.?

"They call me K.H., you call me Honda."

I didn't get why I was so special, but I decided not to ask about that. There were more pressing matters.

"Okay, Honda… why was it so important to talk to me?"

Honda suddenly stopped in her tracks. She then turned around to face me. Her face was cold and serious.

"Akemi Homura, do you truly care about Kaname Madoka? Would you put her safety aside to protect a couple of strangers? Would you leave her all alone?

This was some role reversal. I had done this same thing with Madoka in past loops, before I met Okabe. Honda was imitating me, but I had no idea how. I had just reset again. The Akemi Homura of yesterday was all shy and girly. To everyone else, this was the first day I had this coolheaded persona, yet this girl was hitting every note perfectly. I had to get to the bottom of this.

"What is this?" I asked as I gritted my teeth. "You're clearly somehow mimicking me, and doing a poor job at it."

Honda was briefly taken back by this. She then stroked a thinking pose.

"Interesting… that was not my intention."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Honda didn't answer my question. I waited several painful seconds for a response, but still got nothing. I then threw out some questions of my own.

"What's with those questions? How do you know about Madoka? How do you know information from past timelines? Who are you?"

There was a long pause, but I did get a reply this time. Honda coldly stared me down.

"I'm under no obligation to answer any of your questions." She told me. "Just know I'll be watching you."

Honda then turned away and walked off, probably to her next class. I had no idea what to make of her. Was this girl my enemy or ally?

******  
(Chapter Fourteen: Out Now!)


	14. Chapter 14

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Fourteen

2015.12.22 - 3:33 PM JST  
Tuesday

School went on as normal, but I had never felt so tense. Honda seemed to be everywhere and always when I didn't want to see her. I didn't understand what was happening anymore. I was so distracted by this, that I wasn't able to connect with Madoka at all. In fact, I barely got to see her. School ended and I felt horrible as I approached the lab coat wearing fool waiting for me outside my door.

"What happened today?" He asked me. "You look… different."

I wasn't surprised by Okabe's observation. There were so many emotions going through my head, it was starting to overwhelm me. I wasn't about to admit that though.

"I'm fine." I told him. "Let me unlock the door."

I opened the door. We walked inside and resumed the same positions as last time. We needed a new plan to save Madoka and Mayuri. It was clear that their exact time death was not fixed, but probably boxed within a seven or eight hour window. Okabe and I weren't having any luck coming up with new ideas though. Whenever one of us proposed something, the other had already tried it in a previous timeline. We were even more stuck than before. I sighed and looked up in frustration. That's when I saw her. On the roof, watching us through a skylight, was a mysterious girl with brown hair.

This girl started to panic the moment she realized I saw her. Okabe turned his head to see what I was looking at. He caught a glimpse of the girl just as she fled. A name escaped his mouth.

"Suzuha?"

Okabe then bolted out the door without saying anything more. I ran after him, but he had a head start. Okabe was out of sight by the time I got outside. I shook my head and glanced at my phone. It was 6:34 PM. The witch at the mall was going to appear in about an hour. I had to get over there. I grabbed my bag and headed to the train station. Okabe was a grown adult, I was sure he could take care of himself.

I arrived in the basement warehouse just in time to see the witch's labyrinth form. I rushed to the centre and found Madoka and Sayaka sitting on the ground. They were thankfully being protected by Mayuri and Mami. I transformed into my own magical girl outfit and fought the witch as well. The fight didn't take very long with the three of us working together.

The dust soon cleared and the witch's labyrinth collapsed. Things were going smoothly for the most part. I was about to introduce myself to the group when a sixth person suddenly appeared. It was Honda. She was elevated over us, standing on a tower of wooden crates.

I studied her and my jaw hit the floor. Her outfit. She was a magical girl too? That was weird enough by itself, but what was that thing attached to her arm? It was my shield. Did she swipe it when I wasn't looking? I actually had to take a glance at my own arm just to make sure it was still there. Honda didn't steal it, but then how did she have a replica? It was just another item on the list of mysteries surrounding this girl.

Well, I was growing tired of playing this game of smoke and mirrors. I had so many questions and this time I going to force an answer out of her. I quickly jumped up to Honda's position and restrained her, or at least that's what I thought. Honda had just enough wiggle room to reach for her shield and switch on the time freeze mechanism. Everything stopped, but the atmosphere grew even more tense.

"What are you afraid of?" I taunted her. "Getting your butt kicked with an audience? Or did you seriously think I was going to freeze while holding onto you?"

"Neither." Honda replied, her voice cracking. "I just want to talk."

At first, I thought she was only saying this so she could escape after I released her, but her face told me a different story. Honda looked like she was on the verge of crying. Her arms broke free of my grip and formed a tight embrace around me. I was so surprised that I nearly fell over.

"I'll… I'll never fight you, Homura!" Honda loudly announced. "That's a promise!"

My mind went completely blank. None of this was making sense. Honda acting all like Madoka all of the sudden. What was up with that? Honda sensed that things were getting awkward and regained her composure.

She broke the hug and took a step back. Time was still frozen though, so we had to remain holding hands. That was until Honda restored everything back to normal and dropped her magical girl outfit. She dug her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Honda created a magical pen and wrote on the paper before handing it to me. I accepted the paper and Honda prepared to leave.

"I've written down an address and a time for you." She told me. "That's where we'll talk. Don't be late."

Honda then turned her back to me and headed into the shadows. I jumped down back towards Mami and the rest group.

"I'm Akemi Homura." I introduced myself. "Sorry about that. I had to deal with her."

"It's fine. Tomoe Mami." Mami responded. "I'm not sure what you did there, but it certainly got that girl off her high horse. What did she give you?"

"Just a piece of paper."

I showed them the side of the paper the information on it. Madoka then pointed out something I had missed

"Wait, isn't that an envelope, Akemi-san?"

I took another look at it and Madoka was right. It was an envelope. How did I make a mistake like that? I actually released a short dry laugh, the first in awhile.

"Funny, I didn't notice that. I thought it was just some thick paper. I think there might even be something in here."

I opened the unsealed envelope and pulled out a single photograph. It appeared to a family portrait. Honda was standing in the middle of the photo, with two adult women standing behind her. One woman had dark black hair and purple eyes, while the other had red eyes and hair that was bright and pink. Something felt off about the picture, but I just couldn't place it. Then it hit me. My eyes widened when the answer finally came. N-no, it couldn't be that… right?

"Hey transfer student, what's wrong?" Sayaka sincerely asked me. "It looks like you're about to faint."

"I'm fine." I lied to her. I then turned towards Mami. "I'm sorry, but I need to go now. I won't be able to make to your apartment tonight."

"Wait… how did you know…?"

I quickly made a dash towards the exit before Mami could even finish her question. I didn't stop running until I was well outside the mall. I entered a park area and collapsed onto a conveniently placed bench. I couldn't stop staring at the photo though. Who were these women? I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but it almost seemed to good to be true. I was overjoyed and honoured, but also very scared at the same time. With no one around to hear me, I released this thought in the form of two questions.

"Is Honda also a time traveller? And… and are Madoka and I her parents?"

******  
(Chapter Fifteen: Out Now!)


	15. Chapter 15

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Fifteen

2015.12.22 - 7:49 PM JST  
Tuesday

No, that was silly. It was impossible even. This black haired woman couldn't be me and that pink haired woman couldn't be Madoka. Both Okabe's time machine and my own time travel magic only sent memories back. Such a photo couldn't exist, this had to be a coincidence. Honda's family must just look like us, that's all.

I wasn't really convinced, no matter how much I tried to force this bizarre thought out of my head. Something seemed off, like these women really did look too much like us. Honda's behaviour would also make a lot more sense if she was raised by Madoka and I.

"But it's impossible." I kept repeating to myself. "It wouldn't make any sense."

I came back to my senses and looked at my sleeve after a few minutes. I was shocked to realize that I was still wearing my magical girl outfit. I ran through the entire mall and park area in this flashy purple costume. That was how shocked I was. It wasn't such a big issue, I guess. I could just say I'm cosplaying.

I sighed and looked at the envelope again. I finally read the information Honda had written for me. She was asking us to meet at some random intersection on the other side of town in two hours. I slipped into an alleyway and switched back into my school uniform before heading to the train station. I was going to see Honda again and I was going to find out who she was this time.

I arrived at the location ten minutes early. I only waited a few seconds before Honda stepped out of the shadows. She wore a blank expression, much like I did.

"Good evening." Honda greeted me. "Please follow me."

Honda then led me around to a nearby building. We entered a basement apartment. It was decorated with magic, much like mine was. Honda and I stepped into the living room and sat down.

"So, who am I?" Honda started. "This is going to come as quite a shock, but I'm a time traveller. I came here from the year 2036."

"R-really?" I questioned. "I'm familiar with time travel, but not anything that could transport you back twenty one years."

"It's future technology that you wouldn't be familiar with." Honda brushed off my comment. "Let explain why I'm here. Have you ever hear of SERN?"

"Yeah. Isn't that a European research organization? Okabe told me all about it."

"I'm sure he's told you all about their time machine program, but did he also tell you about the SERN's future dystopia? How they exploited and controlled people with a shady global government?"

"N-no." I told her, utterly defeated. "Is that really going to happen?"

"Yes, and in only a few years." Honda replied. "That's why I'm here, I want to fix that mess I left behind in the future. All I need to do is go back to 1975 and obtain an IBN 5100. That's the key to defeating SERN."

"Why are you here in 2015 then?"

Honda froze when I asked her this. What was wrong? Honda bit her lip as she finally answered my question.

"I… I wanted to see you again. That's all."

"Why?" I asked her.

Honda frowned. She looked stressed and unsure what to say. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"You're just important to me." Honda answered. She looked me right in the eyes. "Very important."

My mouth hung open in shock. She couldn't possibly be going in that direction, could she? I pulled out the envelope again. I removed the photo and showed it to her. I pointed at the woman with the black hair.

"Is… is this me?"

Honda's eyes widened. She must've been surprised that I had already figured this out. She then snatched the photo out of my hands.

"How… how did you get this? Tell me!"

Honda's voice was angry and powerful. She really held his photo close to her heart. I quickly went into defence mode.

"You gave it to me. I found it in that envelope you handed to me."

"Envelope?" Honda questioned. I held up it up and gave it back to her.

"Th-thank you for holding onto this photo. I thought I lost it."

She seemed on the verge of crying. I knew what I had to do.

"Do… you want to talk about it?" I asked her. "The future, I mean."

"Sure. Maybe it'll change your fate."

After this ominous statement, Honda looked down that the floor.

"I was born roughly in 2022. Nobody's exactly sure, my biological parents are unknown. My life pretty much started in an orphanage run by SERN's puppet government. That's where my earliest memories begin. I escaped when I was six and managed to live on the streets for a few months. One day, I was searching for food in some dumpsters when a witch's labyrinth suddenly appeared. I had no idea what was going on and I was so scared."

Honda paused and looked up at me. "That's when you found me. You and Madoka found me and led me back out to safety." Honda then suddenly smiled. "You two decided to take me in once you found out that I was homeless. I was so happy. I wanted that joy to last forever."

"But it didn't. Did it?" I asked her, clearly concerned.

"Correct. About six years later, you were leading a group of SERN resistance fighters when the mission went south. You… didn't make it back."

I thought back to what Honda asked me in the school hallway. Was this what she was talking about?

"Madoka blamed herself for what happened to you." Honda told me.

"Why?" I asked her. "That had nothing to do with her, right?"

"You see, Madoka made a really bold wish when she formed her contract in this timeline. She found out about everything you were going through and decided to put an end to it. She wished that she would never die until at she was least eighty years old. Madoka didn't want to outlive you like that and she realized how selfish her wish really was. As a result, she got really depressed."

"Madoka did that? I… I..."

I didn't know what to say. Honda continued once she knew I was finished.

"I didn't fare much better. Kyubey found me at the worst possible time and I formed a contract with him. My better judgement was overcome with grief when I was given that opportunity. The opportunity to save you."

******  
(Chapter Sixteen: Out Now!)


	16. Chapter 16

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Sixteen

2015.12.22 - 10:20 PM JST  
Tuesday

"Save me...?" I trailed off in shock. "You didn't…"

"I was stupid." Honda put herself down. "I wished to be able to relive the day you died and be able to protect you." Honda stood up and transformed into her magical girl outfit. She pointed at her shield. "This isn't a replica. It's your actual shield from 2034, recovered from your dead body." Honda sighed and sat back down. She couldn't look me in the eyes. "I had no idea what I was doing. I failed and failed and failed. I tried everything I could think of, but I couldn't save you."

I started to feel tears hit my cheeks. Honda's story sounded exactly like my own. She must have really seen me as a parental figure. I never had anyone care about me that much. Honda continued.

"I was finished after about a hundred loops. My soul gem was tainted and I was inches away from becoming a witch. I thought it was over." Honda paused and finally looked back up at me. "That's when I found out that the resistance was building a time machine. A time machine capable of travelling back over sixty years. The plan was to use this time machine to prevent SERN from inventing time travel in the first place and stop them from ever truly realizing their dystopia." Honda sighed as she paused again. "So much would change if SERN never formed their dystopia. This gave me hope. If the plan succeeded, then your fate would definitely change. I knew I had to go along and help, but that idea was shot down by everyone involved. They all thought I was too young."

I could sense an element of anger in Honda's voice. She was clearly still furious at these people. I could understand. They were using age as a measurement of maturity, which is rarely reliable. I knew plenty of adults that were less mature than Honda. Age had nothing to do with it. Honda still had more to say.

"I then befriended the pilot they selected and she agreed to take me with her in secret. That's how I'm here."

"I'm guessing you stopped in 2015 to see me again." I told her.

"Yes, Suzuha and I both wanted to see our parents again." Honda answered. "We decided to spend a day here before continuing our mission to 1975."

Suzuha? Was that the name of her pilot? That name sounded familiar for some reason, but I couldn't remember why. Two more people then came in through the front door. It was Okabe and a woman with brown hair. Wasn't that the lady who spied on us from my skylight? They both froze once they saw Honda and I. This nameless woman turned to Honda and asked her a question.

"D-did you brief her?"

"Yeah." Honda replied. "Did you brief Okabe?"

"I did." The woman told her. "Are you ready to go now?"

Honda seemed to tense up a bit. She gritted her teeth as a response finally came out.

"Not yet. I want to meet with Madoka again too. I want to say goodbye on a high note." Honda swallowed her pride as she begged for more time. "Twelve more hours. Please."

The woman shook her head and looked down. She was clearly conflicted.

"I can understand how you feel. Fine. I'll give you until 10 AM tomorrow. Then we really have to make a mad dash for Akihabara."

"Akihabara?" I questioned. I didn't get it. Why were they talking about Akihabara?

"That's where we parked our time machine." The woman told me. She smiled and walked over to me. She held out her hand. "I don't think we've met yet, I'm Amane Suzuha."

"Akemi Homura." I told her my name and we shook hands. Suzuha then looked at the time at her phone.

"It's getting late. You two should get home soon."

"You're right." Okabe agreed. "I'm sleeping on Mayuri's couch tonight. She's probably worried sick right now." He looked up at Suzuha and Honda. "Good luck with your mission. You get that IBN 5100 to me and I'll definitely finish the job for you. SERN's days as a global superpower are numbered." Okabe stopped and smiled. "Good night."

Okabe then headed out the door. I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about, clearly Suzuha had told him different information. Were Honda and Suzuha going to arrange it so that Okabe receives the IBN in the present? Why not just deliver it using the time machine? Wouldn't that be more reliable? It didn't make much sense.

I opened the door and stepped out on the street. I got to the train station got home at around 11:30. I had school the next day, so I was running around to get ready. I could have frozen time here, but I felt that wouldn't be an appropriate use of my powers. I then slipped into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

I got up the next morning and threw on my school uniform. I washed up and then heard a knock on the door. I answered the door and it was Okabe. He looked beat, like he hardly got any sleep last night. His face was very serious, clearly something was wrong.

"May I come in?" He asked me.

"Of course." I stepped aside and let him in. Okabe sat down on my couch. I could feel the tension in the room. Okabe was the first to speak.

"There's something important I need to tell you. It kept me up all night…" He trailed off and looked up at me. "Suzuha and Honda… their time machine. It can only go back in time. Once they leave, they'll never be able to return here."

******  
(Chapter Seventeen: Out Now!)


	17. Chapter 17

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Seventeen

2015.12.23 - 7:43 AM JST  
Wednesday

"Wh-what?" I asked him. "A-are you serious?"

"Does it sound like I'm joking?" Okabe sounded irritated. "They wanted to keep this a secret from you, but I felt you had the right to know. I would certainly want to know if I was in your position."

I took a step back and fell to my knees. As if losing Madoka wasn't bad enough, I was going to lose Honda now too. I knew what I had to do.

"I'm going out to find her."

I then ran outside at lightning speed. I completely forgot to kick Okabe out and lock the door. I ran down the street to the place Madoka and I usually met up. She was there today as well along with Honda. I approached them at lightning speed and grabbed Honda's shoulders. I pressed her against a fence. It was at that point that I completely lost control.

"You can't come back to the present?" I cried at her, my heart full of both anger and sadness. "Why didn't you tell me? Do you have any idea how many times I've lost Madoka? Now I'm going to lose you too? Is that fair?"

Tears started to flow from Honda's eyes. I let go of her once I realized what I had done.

"You think I want to leave you and Madoka behind?" Honda asked me, clearly broken inside. "I have to though, I signed up for this mission the moment I approached Suzuha. I have to do this and I didn't want you to try to stop me. Okabe only found out about because we needed his cooperation."

"Um, Homura-chan? Honda-chan? What's going on?"

I turned around and looked right into Madoka's eyes. She was looked frightened, and I hated to see her frightened. I wanted to see Madoka happy.

"What are you two talking about?" She continued. "You're scaring me."

"Madoka… I…"

I wanted to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be okay. Nothing came out though. I couldn't think of anything to say to calm her down. Honda then turned to me.

"I think it's about time we told her the truth, don't you think?"

"What? We can't… I mean…"

I realized then that I was making excuses. It had been a while since I tried telling Madoka the truth and I didn't think she was going to believe me. I swallowed my pride and walked up to Madoka. I put my hands on her shoulders and spoke in the softest tone I could.

"Madoka, there's so much we want to tell you. So much I want to tell you. It's going to sound far-fetched, but it is real. I promise." I paused and took a deep breath. "So… please listen to us."

"Certainly," Madoka replied. She led us into a park and we sat at a picnic table. She put on a fake smile and looked our sad faces. "Okay. Tell me everything. Starting at the beginning."

We spent the next hour it all to Madoka. My time loops, Honda's time travelling and everything in between. There were times when we lost Madoka and had take a step back to explain something, but that was it. Madoka was surprisingly good at absorbing the information. Honda and I made our closing remarks and we were done. Madoka then took over for both of us.

"Sound like you two have been through a lot…" She trailed off. Madoka sounded just as speechless as I was. She thought for a bit and then lit up with excitement.

"Since Honda-chan has to leave soon, why do we go out and do something? As a family, just like back then. "

"Don't you mean in the future?" Honda asked Madoka, still unsure how to handle this weird solution. Madoka laughed lightly.

"Yeah. Time travel really messes up language for me." She looked at Honda and then back to me. "So, where do you want to go? It's all on me."

"Madoka, you can't do that. I'll pay." I tried to force this on her, but Madoka simply shook her head.

"No, Homura-chan. You've done more than enough for me." She told me with a frown. "This is the least I can do."

I hesitantly nodded. I wasn't used to seeing Madoka so determined. She put on another smile.

"Come on, guys. Think of something. What do you find fun?"

"I'm fine going anywhere." I told them. "What about you, Honda?"

"I was raised in a world ruled by SERN." Honda answered. "Fun was never really on the agenda."

"There must've been something." Madoka walked up to Honda. "Can you think of anything?"

"Well, I remember an old bowling game I used to play." Honda said this in a typical thinking pose. "That was a lot of fun. And I've always wanted to play it for real."

"Bowling?" I repeated. "Hmmm…"

"Hey, there's a bowling alley about ten minutes from here." Madoka informed us. "Why don't we do that?"

"Sounds fun." Honda replied. "I'm in."

"Let's head over then." I added. "Lead the way, Madoka."

Madoka then showed the way out of the park and towards the bowling alley. Today was probably was one the best days of my life. Madoka knew the truth and we were going out to have fun together as a family with Honda. I felt happy and joyful inside. This reminded me why I was fighting to save Madoka. I couldn't live without her.

******  
(Chapter Eighteen: Out Now!)


	18. Chapter 18

To Save Two Friends  
Steins;Gate and Madoka Magica  
Chapter Eighteen

2015.12.23 - 8:30 AM JST  
Wednesday

Madoka led Honda and I a few blocks over to a bowling alley. It was early morning during a school day, so there were mostly little kids there with their parents. We approached the cashier and she gave us a weird look. She probably knew that we were skipping school.

"Can I help you?" She asked us, maintaining her suspicious glare. Madoka pulled out a 5000 yen bill and slipped it across the counter.

"Two games and three pairs of rental shoes, please."

The cashier sighed in silent defeat and accepted the money. She then went into the back and produced three pairs and of bowling shoes, which were set down on the counter.

We thanked the cashier as a group. I grabbed the bowling shoes and passed them out to my two friends, soon to be my opponents. We walked over to our assigned bowling lane. Honda started to get excited. Her face lit up.

"Oh, this looks just like the video game!" She cried out with glee. A smile grew on my face. Honda was acting just like Madoka. I guess she took influence from both Madoka and myself. Honda stepped up onto the hardwood flooring.

"Wait, Honda-chan." Madoka stopped her. She then held up one of the pairs of rental shoes. "You need to put these on." Honda turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" She asked Madoka. "What's wrong with my running shoes?"

"They'll mark up the hardwood floor." I interjected. "These rental shoes won't do that."

Honda walked back over and put on her bowling shoes alongside Madoka and I. We all got ready and the game began. Madoka picked up the first ball and throw it with all her might. Unfortunately, it went right into the gutter. It was clear that Madoka didn't have much experience bowling. She picked up the second ball and did a few practice swings. Honda saw this and stepped up onto the hardwood. She grabbed Madoka's arm and fixed her swing.

"Try throwing the ball like this." Honda told Madoka. She then took a few steps back. "You can still get a spare."

Madoka threw the second ball. It dropped the ground and went right down the middle. Eight of the ten pins were knocked down, leaving the two outer pins. A split. Madoka smiled a little.

"Eehehe." She nervously laughed. "I guess that was better than nothing. Thanks Honda-chan."

I was then my turn. I picked up my first ball and thrusted it down the bowling lane. The ball spun left and barely knocked over the outer pin. I sighed and prepared to throw my second shot. I took a few patience swings and looked back at Honda. She returned this glace with a smug smile.

"What?" She asked me, her voice thick with sarcasm. "Does the great Akemi Homura need my help?"

I frowned in annoyance. Honda was clearly trying to push my buttons. I had to do this all by myself. I turned back around and gave the ball my best throw. It hit the centre pin and knocked them all down. A spare. Madoka stood up and gave my a little round of applause.

"Oh, nice one, Homura-chan."

It was then Honda's turn. I stepped down and she took my place. Honda grabbed her first ball and blasted it down the bowling lane like a rocket. It hit the centre pin dead on. All ten pins fell over. She got a strike on her first turn. Madoka and I looked at her in awe. Honda casually stepped down and sat down.

"Your turn, Madoka."

The rest of the game pretty much went like that. Honda was in the lead, I was stuck in second, and was Madoka trailing in third. Honda was really skilled and she won the first game by a landslide. She got a total of five strikes. I honestly would've accused her of cheating if it wasn't for the fact that she had her fair share of gutter balls as well.

It was then time for the second game. Honda noted the score and offered to team up with Madoka, who would act as a handicap. Thanks to this set up, the game was much closer. There was also no strikes as Honda threw after her teammate. In the end, Honda and Madoka still won, though the score was much closer. We shook hands and returned the rental shoes and the counter. Honda checked the time on her cell phone.

"Oh no. It's ten o'clock already." She told us. "Suzuha will be waiting for me. I have to get going."

Honda approached the door, but stopped right in front of the glass. She then turned around.

"Thank you. Madoka. Homura." She paused and tears started to flow. "You may not realize it, but you two mean a lot to me." Honda then exited the building.

"Wait!" Madoka cried out. "Honda-chan!"

Madoka and I ran outside after her. However, Honda was nowhere to be found when got out there. She must've stopped time. She didn't want to be followed, I guess. This was probably a hard enough decision for her to make without us around. I looked over to Madoka

"Do you want to go to the school now, Madoka." I asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go, Homura-chan."

Madoka and I walked the school. We got into class with a late slip and sat down. Before long another day of school had gone by. Madoka and I parted ways in the schoolyard and I began walking home. That's when I encountered Okabe. He gave me a smile.

"Honda and Suzuha headed back to Akihabara." He told me. "I'm heading back too."

"Okay." I said to him."It was nice working with you. I hope this works."

"Me too." Okabe's face changed to a slight frown. "You may not remember everything after the worldline shift. So, this might be goodbye."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that." I told him and shrugged. "Call me right before the timeline shift, okay?"

"Okay." Okabe confirmed.

We shook hands and Okabe went on his way. I headed home and laid down on my bed. All sorts of things went through my mind. Honda, SERN, the Phone Wave. I thought the world of magical girls was weird, but time travel is a whole other beast. Was Okabe really going to succeed in preventing SERN's dystopia? I guess things couldn't get much worse than that.

I got tired of dwelling on the negative and stand up on the bed. I checked the time and saw that it was almost eight o'clock. I sighed and prepared to leave the house again. It was time to do a little witch hunting.

"Oh, it's you." Tomoe Mami said as I approached her in a dark alley. "You're Madoka's friend, right?"

"Y-yes." I hesitantly answered. It was so weird being on good terms with this girl. Not to mention the fact that Madoka and I were actually friends in this timeline, I rare occurrence throughout the many loops I had experienced. A witch's labyrinth then opened up in front of us. Mami put on a smug smile.

"Hey, I'll race you to the witch."

Mami said this as she ran into the portal. At first, I thought about how stupid this was. Witch's labyrinths are dangerous places, full of death traps. Despite that, I realized that I was being a party pooper and ran in after her. The labyrinth wasn't as large as I thought, it was pretty much one long hallway. I was in good shape and quickly caught up with Mami. She reached the door leading to the witch just before I did and won the race.

"Not bad." Mami said as I ran up to the door as well. She flung and door open and ran inside. I followed her in and froze up once I saw the witch we were dealing with. It was Charlotte. The witch who killed Mami is countless other timelines. Was it going to happen again right now?

I actually felt bad for Mami, the first time in countless loops. I had dealt with her death so much, that I had grown numb. I had to do something this time. I jumped down and started furiously shooting the witch, up close and personal. This seemed to be working, until the witch bolted for Mami. She was far behind me, relying on distance attacks. I know what was about to happen. The witch grew to an enormous size and bit Mami's head off. I shut my eyes, not wanting to see this for literally the hundredth time. I let loose another three rounds into the witch and it was dead.

The witch's labyrinth disappeared and I fell to my knees. I didn't know if I was getting soft or something else was going on. Quite frankly, I didn't care. Tomoe Mami was dead yet again. I transformed out of my magical girl outfit and prepared to leave before Mami's body was discovered. I left the alleyway and headed down the street when my cell phone went off. It was Okabe. I picked it up.

"We've got the IBN 5100." He told me. "We're ready to delete the first dmail and change worldlines. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." I told him. I turned a corner and started to feel a little rain bounce off my scalp. The weather matched my mood perfectly. "Do it."

There was a bit of momentary silence on the other end of the line. I then heard a bit of typing and whispering in the background. At that point, Okabe started speaking again.

"Okay… Operation Ragnarok commencing in five, four, three, two, one…"

I heard a single click on the keyboard. I immediately got a headache and my vision started to fade. Everything then faded to black.

******  
Chapter Nineteen: In Progress


End file.
